This invention relates to sampling of biological fluids, such as urine, and particularly to a container for collection of such fluids and extraction of one or more samples therefrom.
Specimen collectors for biological fluids, in their simplest form, comprise simply a container with a removable cover. Once a sample has been collected in the container and the cover reapplied, the specimen collector is then transported to a laboratory, where sampling of the specimen takes place.
For more immediate sampling of the collected biological fluids, the collector can include additional features. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,404 describes a liquid specimen container which has not only a receptacle for fluids, but also an integral sampling portion comprising a recess with a needle extending upwardly therein. The needle is connected to a tube which extends into the container for withdrawing fluid therefrom. When the pierceable end of an air-evacuated vial is inserted in the recess and is pierced by the needle, a sample is withdrawn from the container without the need of removing the cover. Once the sample has been withdrawn, the sample collector can then be discarded, another sample withdrawn in the same manner, or the sample collector can be transported to a laboratory for further testing of the fluid therein.
Once a sample has been withdrawn from the specimen container of Pat. No. 4,300,404, the needle is contaminated, yet it remains with the specimen container since it is an integral part thereof. The only protection from the needle is a replaceable label which must be physically reapplied to the container after the sample or samples have been withdrawn. Not only is reapplication of a label cumbersome, it also exposes the doctor, nurse, lab technician or other person handling the container to possible infection.